Smyrna times., 1887-05-04
The Legislature and Temperance
Question.

y
fore the meeting of the Legislature.
The Legislature made several efforts
to deal with the question, but in the
end nothing was accomplished. The
responsibility for this is divided among
the temperance people, the liquor peo-
pie and the Legislature. The temper
ance people undertook to bring in a
bill providing for local option. Instead
of doing this they brought in bill for
county option. This was a mistake
both in principle and in tactics. The
option of county Is a mere brute
majority and shows nothing as to the
diverse local sentiment which may
prevail in the different independent
communities composing the county.
1t was bad tactics because it changed
the form of the question, and therefore
created, quite unnecessarily, the risk
that all the known friends of genuine
local option would not support it. As
the change was not for the better, this
was precisely what happened. So far
as a befuddlement of the question of
local option is concerned the temper
ance people are responsible. The re-
spOnsibility of the liquor men relates to
high license. The bill which proposed
high license was defective in the par
ticular that it turned all the money re-
ceived over to the State treasury. In
this respect it followed our present
license law. 1t is unjust to the point
of absurdity for New Castle county
and Wilmington to pay all the poor
house and criminal expenses produced
by whiskey within their limits, and
yet not to have one cent of the money
which whiskey pays for the privilege
OF being sold as general commodity
with which to aid in meeting these
poor house and criminal expenses.
The high license bill was worse in this
particular than the existing law because
more money would be taken by it from
the county aud city and given TO the
state. The high license proposed by
this bill for Wilmington was S400. The
the mistake made 10y the liquor men
was in opposing this rate. The proba-
bilities are that they will never have
so low rate TO oppose again. If they
had accepted this rate promptly and
gratefully-for it was really made
more in their interest than in that of
the communicating might have held
it for some time. Having fought the
the high license Off for this session. the
4 chances are that when it comes again
! the rate will he higher-S60O at least
and perhaps $500. The mistake of the
Legislature was both social and pOliti-
4 cal. 1t was lis duty to deal with the
question, at least to the extent Of max
ing whiskey pay for part of the costs
!
A good many of the members really
wanted to do something sensible and
effective but at the last moment, un.
der the tremendous political pressure
brought upon the State Senate by the
frightened liquor men-who carry a
large parl of the Democratic purse fol
/ New Castle cOunty-these SINGER,
I members of the Legislature found tha
they had been " blutied out" of doius
anything at all. The political error o
this neglect is fairly ludicrous. A sin
cere temperance sentiment prevails il
Sussex county. Almost every mem
Der of the Legislature from that county
had TO recognize this sentiment in OrdeI
TO secure an election last autumn. L
Is question down there with which :
politician has TO make some arrange
ment before he can be popular. No
to do anything at all in behalf of TEN
perance was therefore dreadful piec,
of neglect on the part of a Democratic
Legislature. 1t was literally furnish
ing the material with which to builC
up a party in Sussex county which
will do something sensible in behalf o
temperance. On the other hand, tn,
operation of the new Registration Law
in Wilmington will tend to break III
and weaken the consecutive skill anC
energy of those Democratic work
who hitherto have been able to carry
elections at this end of the State with
out much regard to how the peOpl,
voted. The Legislature in effect sol,
out the nOn-partisan temperance senti
ment of Sussex county for the benef
of the saloons of Wilmington, while Il
the same time tbe ballOt-boX suffers
who would be the natural political in
struments whom the saloon pOitica
contributions to the Democratic party
would set in motion, have been largely
deprived of the opportunity to us,
their nefariOus art by the Registration
law. The Legislature might better
have done the right thing both wit
temperance and with whiskey. Th
feeling of some leading Democrati
pOlitician-we do not know what on
that the liquor men must be placatet
in the interest of the Democratic part,
at all hazards, was sufficiently infuen
tial, however, 20 override all the goOC
intentions that the Legislature MAJ
have possessed. Thus in form, as W,
said at the outset the Temperance
question in this State remains precisel,
where it was before the Legislator,
met. But in this political potency
has been growing good deal through
legislative neglect, and will continu,
to grow, not necessarily for temper
ance party as such, but uncuestionabl,
for some practicable arrangement
whereby the local sense on this subiec
can make itself operative, and whereof,
whiskey can be mads to meet more o
the cost that it impOseses upon the tax
payers than at present. Morning NeUs